To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus and COVID-19 variants, I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. Meanwhile, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!
(This blog was originally posted on September 15, 2016)
Performance anxiety, or the fear of performing some task or behavior in
front of other people, is a common phenomenon. Indeed, a majority of my
hypnotherapy practice centers on helping clients overcome performance anxiety
to some extent. Whether the person wants to increase confidence to speak or
play an instrument in public, or overcome a “nervous stomach” before taking the
field at a big game or horse show, performance anxiety is the culprit. Many people
who come in to quit a tobacco habit or lose weight are initially surprised to
learn that smoking/chewing tobacco or over-eating are replacement behaviors their
subconscious mind uses to repress or stuff down this anxiety.
What if the source of your performance anxiety has less to do with the
specific activity you are about to do and is more about being evaluated for
that performance? In her book titled The
Power of the Herd, A Nonpredatory
Approach to Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Innovation1, Linda Kohanov theorizes that the
source of this stress has more to do with the evaluation than the task. The Eponaquest LLC founder calls this phenomenon
“evaluation apprehension,” and describes various physiological symptoms of
anxiety that we associate with performance anxiety including increased blood
pressure and pulse/heart-rate and rapid speech pattern. Above all else is that
overwhelming fear that everyone in the room is hyper-critical of and negatively
rating everything we do. She even explains that the most deleterious effect of
evaluation apprehension is the way it inhibits our desire to learn or try
something new for fear of receiving this negative response from others.
When I read Kohanov’s take on performance anxiety, her concept of
evaluation apprehension being the cause of this phenomenon really resonated
with me. For example, it seems incongruous to hear that our favorite actor or
dancer experiences severe “stage fright” before each performance despite having
received the highest accolades for his or her work. What do they have to be afraid of when they have won every award there
is for what they do? And yet, time and again they insist how much easier
and preferable it is to do the work than to see the movie or a video of the
performance, hear or read reviews about it later.
Her recognition of the “fear of the unknown” as a source of a person’s
anxiety to try something new also dovetails with the Theory of Mind2
that John Kappas, Ph.D., referenced
in so much of his hypnotherapy work. According to the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder, the subconscious
part of the mind is uncomfortable about and resistant to doing new or different
things even when the conscious mind (logic, reason, will-power/free-will and
reasoning) says that it’s okay to do so. This resistance comes from the “knowns”
(familiar stimuli) and that subconscious mental script we all carry around to
protect us from real and perceived threats. If you have a subconscious mental
script that keeps reinforcing the message that everyone really is judging and
evaluating you—and you believe that this judgment is negative—of course you
will avoid that situation at all costs. Since the subconscious mind works on
expectation and imagination, over time, we learn to expect others to respond to
and interact with us in a particular way based on that previous experience.
With
that in mind, I would suggest looking at the phenomenon of performance anxiety
in the context of “evaluation apprehension.” In fact, I really already do that
in my hypnotherapy practice as I teach clients various breathing techniques to
increase their relaxation and imagery exercises so they can focus on all the
things that can and will go right during the task. I also encourage clients to
use memories of positive experiences/outcomes in similar situations to increase
their self-confidence and self-esteem. Ultimately, when we are confident and
relaxed doing the behavior, it is easier and even enjoyable to do the task and
not even think about, let alone worry, what other people may think about our
performance.
1. Kohanov, Linda. The Power of the Herd: A Nonpredatory Approach to Social Intelligence,
Leadership, and Innovation. New World Library: Novato, California. 2013.
pp. 188-189
2. Kappas, Ph.D., John G. Professional Hypnotism Manual: A Practical
Approach for Modern Times (4th Edition). Panorama Publishing
Company: Tarzana, CA. 2001. pp. 10-13
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a
certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with
honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005.
Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, three
years in a row (July 2019, September 2020, July 2021). For more information
about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please
visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2021
Hi, there. I am Tom Neil and I wish to interpret how life had been for my younger brother living with schizophrenia and how he had been permanently able to resist this debilitating disease via a naturopathic, herbal method.
ReplyDeleteMaicon - my kid brother was twenty years old when he was brought to the emergency room by the campus police of the college from which he had been suspended several months ago. A professor had called and reported that he had walked into his classroom, accused him of taking his tuition money, and refused to leave.
Although he had much academic success as a teenager, his behavior had become increasingly odd during the past year. He quit seeing his friends and no longer seemed to care about his appearance or social pursuits. He began wearing the same clothes each day and seldom bathed. He lived with several family members but rarely spoke to any of them. When he did talk to them, he said he had found clues that his college was just a front for an organized crime operation. He had been suspended from college because of missing many classes. My sister said that she had often seen him mumbling quietly to himself and at times he seemed to be talking to people who were not there. He would emerge from my room and ask my family to be quiet even when they were not making any noise.
My father and sister told the staff that Maicon's great-grandmother had had a serious illness and had lived for 30 years in a state hospital, which they believed was a mental hospital. Our mother left the family when Maicon was very young. She has been out of touch with us, and they thought she might have been treated for mental health problems.
Maicon agreed to sign himself into the psychiatric unit for treatment. The whole family except I had agreed to have Maicon transferred to a mental asylum. I knew inwardly there was still some plausible means by which my kid brother could overcome this condition. I knew botanical means of treatment will be more favorable than any other type of treatment, and as such, I had taken a keen interest in the research of naturopathic alternative measures suitable for the treatment of schizophrenia. I had pleaded for some little patience from the family in the delay of the transfer, I was looking forward to proving a point to the entire family, of a positive botanical remedy for this condition.
It was during my ceaseless search on the internet I had been fortunate enough to come across Dr. Utu Herbal Cure: an African herbalist and witch doctor whose professional works had majored on the eradication of certain viral conditions, especially schizophrenia, ( improving the memory capacity positively), via a traditional, naturopathic process and distinguished diet plan. It was by the administration of this herbal specialist that my brother had been able to improve his condition for better.
Before the naturopathic remedy - Maicon's story had reflected a common case, in which a high-functioning young adult goes through a major decline in day-to-day skills. Although family and friends may feel this is a loss of the person they knew, the illness can be treated and a good outcome is possible.
My brother Maicon is just like many other patients out there suffering from this disease. Although he was able to overcome this condition via a naturopathic herbal remedy administered by this African herbal physician and saved completely thus, rekindling the lost joy which had been experienced by the family members.
I wish to use this opportunity to reach across to anyone who may happen to be diagnosed with this disastrous condition to spread the hope of an everlasting herbal remedy that is capable of imposing a permanent end to this disease.
For more information concerning this naturopathic herbal remedy, feel free to contact this African herbal practitioner via email:
drutuherbalcure@gmail.com